will hydroxychloroquine impede or prevent covid-19

Conditions: COVID-19; Coronavirus; Coronavirus Infections; SARS-CoV 2

Summary: this is a prospective, multi-site study designed to evaluate whether the use of hydroxychloroquine in healthcare workers (hcw), nursing home workers (nhw), first responders (fr), and detroit department of transportation bus drivers (ddot) in se, michigan, can prevent the acquisition, symptoms and clinical covid-19 infection the primary objective of this study is to determine whether the use of daily or weekly oral hydroxychloroquine (hcq) therapy will prevent sars-cov-2 infection and covid-19 viremia and clinical covid-19 infection healthcare workers (hcw) and first responders (fr) (ems, fire, police, bus drivers) in southeast michigan. preventing covid-19 transmission to hcw, fr, and detroit department of transportation (ddot) bus drivers is a critical step in preserving the health care and first responder force, the prevention of covid-19 transmission in health care facilities, with the potential to preserve thousands of lives in addition to sustaining health care systems and civil services both nationally and globally. if efficacious, further studies on the use of hydroxychloroquine to prevent covid-19 in the general population could be undertaken, with a potential impact on hundreds of thousands of lives.

the study will randomize a total of 3,000 hcw, nhw, fr and ddot bus drivers within henry ford hospital system, the detroit covid consortium in southeast, michigan. the participants will be randomized in a 1:1:1 blinded comparison of daily hcq, weekly hcq, or placebo. a fourth non-randomized comparator group of hcw, nhw, ddot bus drivers, and fr who are currently on standard hcq therapy will be recruited to assess the impact of weightbased daily dosing of hcq as compared to the randomized arms. eligible participants who are asymptomatic for pre-specified signs and symptoms suggestive of covid-19 infection will have a whole blood specimen obtained at study entry. participants will be provided with weekly dosing of hydroxychloroquine (hcq) 400mg po q weekly, daily dosing of hcq 200mg po q daily following a loading dose of 400mg day 1, or placebo. participants will receive monitoring at each study week visit to assess for the development of covid-19 related symptoms, covid-19 clinical disease, and medication side effects. at week 8 or if diagnosed positive, participants will provide additional samples of whole blood and complete the final study questionnaire. data including demographic, clinical results, work duties, location of main work area and possible exposures in the community will be collected through questionnaires and emr review. disease-specific, immunologic, and other serologic marker data will be obtained from stored samples.

Eligibility criteria:
inclusion criteria: 1. participant is willing and able to provide informed consent. 2. participant is 18-75 years of age. 3. participant does not have symptoms of respiratory infection, including cough, fevers (temperature \>38.0c), difficulty breathing, shortness of breath, chest pains, malaise, myalgia, headaches, nausea or vomiting, or other symptoms associated with covid-19. 4. participant is willing to provide blood samples for the study. 5. subject agrees to all aspects of the study. 6. the participant has no known allergies or contraindications (as stated in the consent form) to the use of hydroxychloroquine (hcq) as noted in the exclusion criteria and pharmacy sections. exclusion criteria: 1. does not meet inclusion criteria. 2. participant unable or unwilling to provide informed consent. 3. participant has any of the symptoms above or screens positive for possible covid-19 disease. 4. participant is currently enrolled in a study to evaluate an investigational drug. 5. vulnerable populations deemed inappropriate for study by the site principal investigator. 6. the participant has a known allergy/hypersensitivity or has a medication or co-morbidity (including history of gastric bypass, epilepsy, cardiovascular disease or renal failure) that prevents the use of hcq (see pharmacy section). 7. the participant is a woman of childbearing age whose pregnancy status is unknown and is not willing to use 2 methods of contraception. 8. the participant is pregnant or nursing. 9. the participant was diagnosed with retinopathy prior to study entry. 10. the participant has a diagnosis of porphyria prior to study entry. 11. the participant has renal failure with a creatinine clearance of \<10 ml/min, pre-dialysis or requiring dialysis. 12. the participant has a family history of sudden cardiac death. 13. the participant is currently on diuretic therapy. 14. the participant has a history of known prolonged qt syndrome. 15. the participant is already taking any of the following medications: abiraterone acetate, agalsidase, amodiaquine, azithromycin, conivaptan, dabrafenib, dacomitinib, dapsone (systemic), digoxin, enzalutamide, fusidic acid (systemic), idelalisib, lanthanum, lumefantrine, mefloquine, mifepristone, mitotane, pimozide, qt-prolonging agents, stiripentol).

Keywords: covid-19 coronavirus healthcare workers sars-cov 2 first responders emergency medical technicians paramedics firefighters police officers detroit michigan henry ford hospital